Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Easy and Hard
Materials: large pieces of paper, markers
Tape two or more pieces of paper on the walls. Label each piece with either That’s easy to do or That’s hard to do. Leave space on each piece of paper for kids to write. Lay markers near each paper. Guide kids to move among the papers and brainstorm things that are easy to do or hard to do. They can add their ideas to the appropriate sheets. Tell kids today they will learn that God is with people, whether they are doing easy or hard things.
Live It Out
Game – Rock Slide
Materials: masking tape, small smooth rocks, colored circle stickers (optional)
Use masking tape to create a square (or other shape) on one end of a table. Tell kids to take turns standing at the opposite end of the table and sliding rocks (one at a time) down the table and into the shape. If a rock lands in the shape, award points. Ask a review question. Award additional points for a correct answer. Talk about the Life Point and about trusting God in difficult times.
Options: (1) Create several shapes down the length of the table, awarding higher points for the shapes that are further away from the kids. (2) Play the game in teams. Mark rocks of each team with colored stickers.
Craft – Gel Bag Puzzles
Materials: quart size freezer ziplock bags, hair gel, craft foam, scissors, permanent markers, wide transparent tape, food coloring or glitter (optional)
Distribute sheets of craft foam. Tell kids to print the words of the Life Point on their foam sheets. Lead kids to cut the Life Point into pieces. (Or kids can cut small shapes and print one word of the Point on each shape.) Help a child squeeze a generous amount of hair gel into a ziplock bag. If desired, add food coloring or glitter. Seal the bag and mix the gel with the food coloring and glitter. Guide a child to reopen his bag and add the verse pieces. Close the bag and remove as much air as possible before sealing it. Add tape over the bag’s opening to seal it completely. Challenge kids to move the pieces around in the gel bags to put the Life Point in order. Talk about the Bible story and how God helped David.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Transport the Ball
Materials: balls of various sizes (beach ball, foam ball, soccer ball, football, tennis ball, golf ball); pool noodles; masking tape or cones
Mark the beginning and end of the game track with tape or cones. Guide two kids to use pool noodles to move the beach ball from one end to the other. Only the pool noodles can touch the ball, and the ball must be carried not rolled. Guide the kids to work together to figure out the best way to hold the pool noodles against the ball to carry it. After the pair carry the ball to the other end, choose a different pair of kids to carry the ball back. Repeat with pairs of kids and the different sized balls. (If time allows, each pair can have a turn with each ball.) Talk about the difficulty of the task in general and between the different sizes of balls. Say that everyone encounters difficult times and today kids will learn that they can trust God to be with them even when it’s difficult.
Live It Out
Game – Pom-pom Launch
Materials: pool noodle, balloons, pom-poms, duct tape, craft knife, paper, marker, large pieces of paper
Cut the pool noodle into lengths of about 4 inches. To make a pom-pom launcher, knot the end of an uninflated balloon and cut off about one-half inch from the round end. Stretch the open end of the balloon’s knotted piece over the end of a piece of pool noodle. Secure with duct tape. To use the launcher, drop a pom-pom inside the hole, aim the launcher away from a person, pull back on the knot, and let go to send the pom-pom flying. Make two launchers (or one per team). Print the words of the Life Point on pieces of paper, one or two words per page. Scatter the words at one end of the game area. Group kids into two (or more) teams. Tape large paper on the wall behind each team. Say the Life Point together. Each team takes turns launching pom-poms toward the words. When a team’s pom-pom lands on a word, a player should write that word on the team’s large paper. After a team has hit all of the words, they can put them in order to make the Life Point. (To make the game more challenging, tell teams to hit the words in order.) Talk about the Bible story. Talk about how people can trust God to be with them in difficult times today.
Craft – Rollups
Materials: adding machine tape or long strips of paper, markers, gel pens, small rubber bands or string
Cut long lengths of adding machine tape for each preteen. Lead kids to write the Life Point or today’s Bible verse on one side of the adding machine tape. They can decorate around the words and draw pictures as they choose. As they work, talk about the Bible story. Note that David trusted in God when he went against Goliath. Tell kids that people today can trust God, no matter what the circumstances are. As kids finish, lead them to begin at one end of the strip and roll up the strip with the words inside. Use small rubber bands or pieces of string to keep the strip rolled. Suggest that kids place the rollups in their pockets or backpacks to remind them that they can trust God at all times.
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